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After the second stage in the Forest of Death concluded, there was a three-day break before the preliminary matches for the third stage began.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had postponed the preliminaries for three days, giving Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki time to recover.
This delay also benefited the other teams, providing them with much-needed rest and preparation time, so no one questioned Hiruzen’s decision.
Out of the twenty-six teams that entered the Forest of Death, only seven passed. The rest were eliminated.
Each team had three members, totaling twenty-one participants. However, one person withdrew—Kabuto Yakushi.
This was Shin’s first time seeing Kabuto Yakushi. He was quite a capable individual. Though seemingly insignificant early on, he became a major player later in the story.
Kabuto was a spy planted by Orochimaru—a super spy.
“Karin, Hinata, good luck!” Kushina cheered, giving them a thumbs-up.
“Big Sister, you have to win! I’ll be watching!” Hanabi waved at Hinata.
“Hanabi, aren’t you going to cheer for me too?” Karin asked Hanabi, feeling a bit left out.
“No way! What if you end up fighting Big Sister?” Hanabi huffed.
Though Karin had been nice to her, Hanabi naturally supported her own sister more. Besides, for some reason, Karin seemed a bit resentful towards her lately.
Just then, the matches began. The proctor was Hayate Gekkō, looking as sickly as ever.
The first match was Sasuke Uchiha versus Yoroi Akadō.
Yoroi, seemingly a Konoha ninja, was actually another one of Orochimaru’s spies.
Shin wondered just how many spies Orochimaru had planted in Konoha. If the entire village turned out to be his spies, that would be quite the spectacle.
Of course, that was just a thought. Orochimaru likely only had a few spies; planting too many would be impossible. Konoha’s intelligence network wasn’t completely incompetent.
Sasuke Uchiha, despite his injuries, seemed to have a protagonist halo. After falling behind, he used the newly developed Lion Combo to defeat Yoroi.
Naruto Uzumaki’s opponent was Kiba Inuzuka, just like in the original story. And just like in the original, Naruto defeated Kiba… with a fart.
Truly the number one unpredictable ninja. Kiba would likely never forget this humiliating defeat; it would be a stain on his record he’d never want to talk about.
Karin’s opponent was Temari. Using Sealing Jutsu: Adamantine Sealing Chains, Karin bound Temari like a mummy, eliminating her without mercy.
“Is this what you call ‘training’ for Karin and Hinata?” Kushina glanced sideways at Shin.
“Ahem, the opponents are too weak.” Shin felt slightly embarrassed under Kushina’s gaze. Honestly, Temari wasn’t weak. Though officially a Genin, her strength surpassed that level.
“How could I be defeated?” Temari thought, unwilling to accept the outcome. She hadn’t even had a chance to attack before being instantly bound by the chains. It was humiliating. Temari never imagined she’d lose in the preliminaries.
Hinata’s opponent was also the same as in the original story—Neji Hyūga. However, this time, Neji Hyūga conceded immediately.
Hizashi Hyūga, watching, breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t wanted Neji to fight Hinata out of pride.
After all, Hinata was his older brother’s daughter, and Shin Uzumaki was very protective of her. Winning would bring trouble, losing would bring shame. Conceding was the best option.
“Wow, Hinata, you had it easy!” Karin looked enviously at Hinata.
“And you didn’t?” Shin couldn’t help but retort. Defeating her opponent with a single jutsu… wasn’t that easy?
“Of course not! Shin-sama, I feel so tired. I can barely stand.” Karin deliberately leaned against Shin, pretending to stumble. After Shin steadied her, she secretly flashed victory signs behind his back.
“Karin, you’re becoming increasingly shameless,” Shin said, pinching Karin’s small cheek.
Hinata watched Karin, her face flushed red. Karin is so bold. Hinata felt she could never compare to Karin in that regard.
“Shin-sama, can I lean on you for a little longer? I used too much chakra just now; I feel weak.”
Karin continued her act, fabricating excuses without batting an eye. With her constitution, how much chakra could a single sealing jutsu possibly consume?
“Alright, lean on me.”
Shin naturally wouldn’t push Karin away; he wasn’t ‘that’ dense. However, every action has consequences. Now, he had to endure Kushina’s murderous glare.
“Karin, well played! NTRing me right in front of my eyes!” Kushina gritted her teeth, clenching her fists.
Faced with Kushina’s threat, Karin chose to close her eyes and pretend she couldn’t hear.
Let death come!
Leaning against Shin-sama felt too comfortable. Even if she got beaten up later, she accepted it. Karin felt she had achieved enlightenment.
——
Not long after, the preliminary matches concluded.
Out of the twenty participants, only nine advanced to the final round. Why nine instead of ten? Because, just like in the original story, Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka knocked each other out simultaneously, resulting in a double elimination.
There would be a break before the final round of the third stage. This time was for the participants to prepare, and also for Konoha to handle logistics.
Unlike the previous stages, the final round would involve inviting the Daimyo to watch the exams, as well as the Kazekage from Sunagakure and the Mizukage from Kirigakure.
Yes, Hiruzen Sarutobi also planned to invite Hiashi Hyūga. Whether Hiashi would come, Hiruzen didn’t know.
Inviting Hiashi was Hiruzen’s attempt to discuss forming an alliance. In this world, there were no permanent enemies. Hiashi Hyūga was once a Konoha missing-nin, an enemy.
But now, Hiashi’s identity had flipped. He was the Mizukage of Kirigakure. Hiruzen planned to resolve their past conflict and form an alliance with Kirigakure.
After all, Konoha was currently too weak. Hiruzen knew he needed to gather allies.
——
Shin and his group didn’t stay in Konoha.
The final stage wouldn’t begin for nearly a month. Shin decided to return to the Land of Whirlpools and come back when the exams started.
Besides, if Shin stayed away for too long, Tsunade, Mikoto, and the others still in the Land of Whirlpools might storm Konoha looking for him.
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Back in the Land of Whirlpools, little Hanabi clung to Shin, demanding he teach her the Gentle Fist.
Shin initially tried to pawn Hanabi off on Hinata, letting Hinata teach her. But after less than half a day, Hanabi was back, clinging to Shin and threatening to tell Hiashi Hyūga he bullied her if he didn’t teach her.
Would Shin be afraid of her tattling?
He decisively pushed Hanabi back onto Hinata. Shin had no interest in teaching this inattentive little girl.
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